Restraint of passengers in moving vehicles such as planes, cars and trucks has drawn national attention. This is particularly true of children of tender years and infants. Many states, as part of their safety laws regarding motor vehicle, have actually adopted laws which require children below a certain age to be physically restrained by approved devices while riding in a moving vehicle. This requirement prevents children and especially infants from being maimed or killed by being tossed about on the inside of the vehicle or thrown outside the vehicle in an accident. The FAA and other agencies associated with air travel have like restraint requirements.
While a great deal of attention has been focused on the "car seat" as a safety restraint for children who are passengers in automobiles, such devices are not totally adequate for infants or very small children. In order to utilize such a device in an airplane, the purchase of an additional fare/seat is required.
The "traditional" car seat is generally a stand alone unit which restrains the child in either a forward looking or rearward looking position. Most of these devices will not accommodate an infant. The device restrains the occupant out of immediate proximity of an adult passenger. When, for example, in the traditional mounting, the car seat is placed on the rear seat of an automobile, attending the restrained child may require the attending adult to turn around from an adjacent seat or actually unbuckle his/her seat belt to lean over the back seat to attend the restrained child.
In many cases, the traditional, stand-alone car seat must be attached to the frame of the vehicle by law. It therefore either requires a permanent independent mounting which affects the permanent occupancy of a passenger seating space, or the restraint is fastened to the vehicle using the vehicle's existing seat (lap and/or shoulder) belt device. Unless the restraining device is removed, the car seat type restraint occupies a space in the vehicle preventing its use by another passenger, even when the restraint is not occupied by a child. To remove the device is often awkward and cumbersome.
In the absence of a seat-type restraint that is carried onto the airplane, no provision is made for the infant child in an aircraft other than to have an adult passenger hold the child in his/her lap. In the event of a sudden stop or rough landing, the safety of the child is solely dependent on the ability of the adult to secure the infant. Studies show that this arrangement is extremely dangerous in both air and ground vehicle travel. Many states, therefore, prohibit the holding of an infant by a restrained adult at least in automobiles. Further, studies have shown that placing an adult lap or shoulder belt around both the child being held in the lap and the adult is almost always fatal to the child in a sudden stop or an accident, in that the weight of the adult passenger crushes the child between the belt and the passenger.
The prior art is replete with devices intended to secure or restrain an infant or child of tender years. Conventional child restraint systems have heretofore been bulky and relatively expensive. Among these prior art devices are some which present a supplementary harness to be used in conjunction with a seat belt. In many cases, the child may be restrained while standing. With these devices, the child is harnessed independently of any adult passenger and is so oriented relative to the vehicle so that he or she faces forwardly in the direction of normal movement. These devices involve fairly intricate adjustments to provide for a particular child and in many cases do not accommodate an infant at all. Additionally, most of these devices do not comply with state law. In yet other restraints, the infant is secured to the body of the attending passenger.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,229, issued Nov. 18, 1980 to Arnold, involves an intricate papoose device wherein the infant is strapped and harnessed into a restraint which then is strapped to the body of the adult wearer. The straps which encompass the adult wearer are then secured or attached to a standard seat belt. Such devices rely primarily upon the attachment to the adult wearer for restraint and are difficult to remove from the adult as well as the lap belt. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 2,376,657, issued Dec. 4, 1943 to Chamberlain, discloses an infant carrier comprising a satchel type device that is attached to the body of the wearer so that it can be slung over the shoulder of a person such that the baby is carried in the satchel substantially on the hip of the wearer. Such a device provides substantially no protection for the infant in a moving vehicle. The Lancaster patent, U.S. Pat. No. 278,437 issued in 1883, shows an over the shoulder type harness with an eyelet and a clip to attach a sling or a pouch in which the infant is placed. In this device, however, the harness is secured totally to the adult and requires intricate clasps to fasten and unfasten the carrier. This provides substantially no protection for the infant and little restraint in a moving vehicle.
There are a number of drawbacks to these prior art devices in that, for the most part, the only direct connection of the infant harness is to the body of the adult. Even when there is a securing means for fastening the device to a seat belt or the like, such means involve loops or sewn-in clasps which do not allow for ease of detachability and do not, in fact, comprise a restraint per se, which is fastened to the vehicle totally independent of the body of the attending adult passenger. Further, with devices that slip over the seat buckle, the device is not frictionally secured to the seat belt so as to prevent the fastener from moving along the belt and allowing the device to move.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an infant restraint detachably secured directly to and frictionally engaging an unaltered lap and/or shoulder belt in a vehicle such that the infant is totally secure and completely restrained within the device without being attached in any manner to, or dependent for security on, the attending adult. Further, it would be advantageous for the infant restraining device to be able to hold the infant securely against the body of the adult in a face-to-face relationship where infants are most naturally comfortable and secure as well as where the infant can be most easily attended. It would likewise be advantageous if the needs of the infant could be attended without the attending adult removing his/her seatbelt and having to turn around in relation to the infant to be attended.
Further, it would be advantageous to have a restraint where the infant could be most easily attended by laying in a "lap down, face up" position in a face-to-face relationship proximate the attending adult without being strapped to the body of the adult.
Further, it would be advantageous to have a restraint which is in full compliance with applicable Federal Aviation Agency and other state agency regulations defining performance and safety standards for seat belts while still being compact, lightweight, easy to use, fully adjustable, rugged, reliable and versatile enough to accommodate the infant's needs but not occupying a seat in the vehicle when not in use.